kings of israel – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

Jeroboam II was the son of King Jehoash of Israel and he ruled Israel a total of 41 years. He appears on the Bible Timeline in the same time frame as Amaziah and Uzziah Kings of Judah. Jeroboam’s name means “God increases the people” or “he increases the people”. Jeroboam II was an evil ruler and he goverened the land in the same manner as the original Jeroboam who was the first king of the divided kingdom.

Jeroboam_II,King_of_Isreal,son_of_Jehoash — Jeroboam II

The original Jeroboam who ruled the kingdom of Israel after it had split in two parts started a Golden Calf Cult so that he could maintain political power in Israel. This cult was designed to keep the people of Israel divided from the people of Judah through religious differences. Jeroboam didn’t want the Israelite’s going into the land of Judah to worship at Solomon’s Temple; otherwise they might have reunited with the people of Judah under one ruler.

Jeroboam II continued this same practice so that he could control the people. He also encouraged the people to worship foreign gods such as Baal. Many rulers after him made the Golden Calf Cult a part of their policy for governing the land. Jeroboam II ruled the land of Israel during the time of the prophets Jonah, Hosea, Joel and Amos. Jonah’s prophecies are primarily told in the book of the Bible that bears his name but God had also used him to inform Jeroboam II that he would restore the lands of Lebo Hamath to the sea of Arabah. Israel had previously lost these lands to Judah during a war. Joel, Amos and Hosea spoke prophecies to the people of Israel during Jeroboam’s reign. God used these men to try and turn the people from idolatry and to pronounce judgment.

The prophet Amos states that God had stirred up other nations to bring against Israel for their disobedience. During the reign of Jeroboam II the people were suffering from the tyranny of the king of Aram and his son. God had allowed these rulers to harass Israel for many years because they turned away from serving him. Jeroboam II became a deliverer for his people when God used him to stop the kings of Aram from troubling the Israelites. The Bible also indicates that Jeroboam II was a mighty king who fought in many battles and wars. He apparently had restored a lot of lost territory to Israel and he also beat back enemies besides Aram that caused problems for Israel. He eventually died and his son Zechariah became the next king in his place.

Bible References:

2 Kings 14: 16 Jeroboam II was son of Jehoash
2 Kings 14: 23 – 29 Jeroboam reign
24 He ruled the kingdom in the same way as the original Jeroboam.
25 Jeroboam the II restored lands that God had given to Israel and mentions that Jonah prophesized that he would. In reference to Amos 6: 14, God stirs up a nation that oppressed Israel from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.
26, 27 The people in Israel were suffering and God used Jeroboam II to save them
28 He recovered Israel from Damascus and Hamoth
29 Succeeded by Zechariah

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0011_0_10084.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jeroboam_II.jpg

Jehu (name meaning him who exists) was the son of Jehoshaphat often also commonly mentioned as son of Nimshi, his grandfather. Perhaps because Nimshi was more well-known. Ultimately, God chose Jehu to be king because he knew that he could trust this god fearing man to lead the people in true worship. He appears on the Old Testament Timeline during the reign of the Kings of the Divided Kingdom.

False Worship in Israel

When the kingdom of Israel split in half the northern kingdom of Israel was brought into false worship by a man named King Jeroboam. This king started the Golden Calf cult and turned the hearts of many Israelites from God. Since that time, pagan worship had corrupted many of God’s people for a long period. King Ahab and his Phoenician wife made things worse by introducing Baal worship into the land of Israel. God could no longer tolerate this idolatry, and he authorized Jehu to become king to put an end to this problem.

Jehu is Anointed King

Elisha was a prophet of God who served under Elijah another great prophet of God. Elijah was taken up to heaven, and Elisha became the next leader of the prophets of Israel during the period when King Ahab and Jezebel were alive. After Ahab had died his son, Ahaziah came to power in Israel. Ahaziah was just as corrupt as his father. One day Elisha told one of his prophets to go and find Jehu and privately anoint him king. The prophet who anointed Jehu king wasn’t named in the Bible. While the unnamed prophet was telling Jehu about his newfound position, he also told him that he must eliminate the rest of Ahab’s lineage. Once Jehu completed this task, he would then become the undisputed king of Israel.

Jehu Fulfills God’s Judgment

Jehu gathers some of his soldiers, and they ride off to find King Ahaziah and King Joram to wipe out the rest of Ahab’s lineage. Jehu ends up throwing King Joram’s body onto Naboth’s land. Naboth was a godly man that Jezebel killed to get his land for her husband, King Ahab. So God took his revenge against Ahab and Jezebel by killing their son Joram on the same piece of land. Jehu then continued pursuing Ahaziah whom he wounded. Ahaziah escaped to Megiddo and died there.

The Death of Jezebel

Jehu then goes after Jezebel. He sees her sitting out on a balcony of her palace waiting for him, and he has a few eunuchs throw her body down. She hits the wall before hitting the ground, and she is trampled on by horses. Jehu goes in to eat and tells some of his servants to bury her body but when they go to perform this task they only find her skull, feet, and hands.

The Rest of Jehu’s Reign

King Jehu spent the rest of his reign wiping out the remaining members of Ahab’s lineage and he also wiped out all of the people who were associated with this evil king. King Jehu was able to rid Israel of Baal worship by eliminating all of the prophets of this false god. The only thing that he didn’t do was to get rid of the Golden Calf worship that was started by Jeroboam when the kingdom first split. Jehu ruled the land for 28 years before he passed away.

Biblical References

2 Kings 9:1-13 Jehu is anointed king, and God gives him the task of eliminating the rest of Ahab’s family line.
2 Kings 9:14-29 King Ahaziah and King Joram are killed by Jehu.
2 Kings, 9 Jezebel is killed by Jehu.
2 Kings 10 Jehu wiped out Baal worship, but he doesn’t do away with the Golden Calf religion.

References:
http://biblegateway.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehu

http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T4942

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jehu.jpg

Tag: kings of israel

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